- Saturday, November 15th @ 6 am
This is a one-day sitting in which we put down our usual activity and preoccupations to settle deeply into silence and stillness together in zazen.
The day includes two chanting services (morning and midday), and breakfast and lunch in the zendo, using the practice called oryoki, a formalized and mindful way of eating that has connections with the Japanese tea ceremony.
A silent work period follows lunch. During the afternoon sitting periods there will be time for individual body practice and private meetings with a teacher will be available. The day will end by 5 pm.
This retreat is for experienced practitioners and participants should already be familiar with zazen practice and basic zendo forms. If this is your first all day sitting, you should have enough zazen experience to follow the schedule, sitting for 25-35 minutes at a time during morning and afternoon. No zazen instruction is offered at this retreat. If you are unsure whether this retreat is right for you, please contact Choro (choro@austinzencenter.org).
Instruction in the meal form of orkyoki is offered at the orientation on the Friday evening before, at 7 pm. Please attend, especially if this is your first time eating in the oryoki style. We will also sit the first period of zazen that evening.
Limited to 25 participants.